Trapped
by writerspassion18
Summary: Hermione bit the inside of her jaw mercilessly as she glared at Draco from across the cell. She didn't think that she could dislike someone so much.


Trapped

Hermione had been thrown into a cell like a ragdoll. She felt completely helpless and downright embarrassed to flop around miserably inside as she rolled on the ground and hit the back wall. She groaned in pain as her back and extremities got the aftereffects. She scowled seconds later as Draco was thrown into the cell also. "Thrown" wasn't the appropriate word, however. He was more or less pushed into the cell which allowed him to gracefully come to a stop before letting his blemish-free face collide with the wall. Lucky prick.

"Don't worry," said the man who had put them into the cell. "If the Ministry complies in time, you'll be out of here soon enough."

"We'll be out of here whether or not they do." Draco snarled at him. The man produced a toothless grin and then raised up two wands in his fist.

"Without these?" He taunted. "I don't think so."

Hermione slowly sat up, her back pressed against the wall as their abductor laughed and left the dungeons that they were in. Draco yelled in frustration, rattled the cell bars with his tight fists and even kicked at them. Hermione rolled her eyes. Not at their current situation, but at the behavior of her Auror partner. The more he ranted and raved, the more upset she became. As the millionth swear word passed his lips, Hermione let out her own bouts of frustration.

"This is all your bloody fault!" Hermione slew at him. "You can't deny it."

"The hell are you coming at me for?" Draco rounded on her. "I told you, _I told you_ , to cover me. What did you do? Covered your own arse instead of mine."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Hermione replied exaggeratedly as she rubbed the back of her head to numb the pain. "I didn't realize that I had four arms manned with wands to cover both your arse and mine. I was getting _attacked_ , Malfoy. Had you not charged in like _I told you not to_ , we wouldn't have had to deal with that ambush. Now look at us! Locked away in a rusty cell Merlin knows where for only Merlin knows how long." Hermione sighed and let her hand drop to her lap where the other was rested. She stared at him then and said sternly, "The Ministry won't pay the ransom."

Draco stared at her right back with a sincere look of disdain. He sucked his teeth and leaned against the bars. "I know."

"We have no wands." Hermione added.

" _I'm aware_." Draco gritted through his tightly clamped down teeth. "Anything else you want to add? Maybe point out the fact that I'm bleeding? I can taste the blood in my mouth, so thanks, but I'm covered."

Hermione cut her eyes dangerously at him and crossed her arms over her chest. "Don't you dare get snippy with me. I didn't even want to be on this mission with you."

"And I did?" Draco scoffed and eventually resigned himself to the ground by the bars. It was the furthest he could be from Hermione at the moment and he was more than happy with that. "You're the second person that didn't listen to me today. I told Finley that Miss Goodie-Gooidie, 'I play by the rules Granger' wasn't right for the job."

"Wasn't for the job!" Hermione cried in an outrage. "Well, you've got some nerve! This mission required tact. It required _patience_. It required deliberate planning-!"

"I can plan, Granger. But don't get pissy with me just because I can hatch out a workable plan in under thirty seconds while yours takes a map of the surrounding area, a team of four Aurors and a full twenty-four hours for you to make one."

Hermione's narrowed eyes had suddenly widened as she had become enflamed with anger. Draco huffed at her and turned his attention to the ceiling as he tilted his head back. That's how he ended conversations: with utter indifference and an air of hoity-toity-ness. Normally he would walk away and leave her spouting words at his retreating form. But since he was trapped in a cell with her, averting his eyes would have to do the trick.

Even after five years Hermione couldn't figure out how Draco bloody Malfoy had managed to make it through the ranks to become an Auror. Training to become one was rigorous. Aurors were trained singularly, and so no potential Auror ever knew of each other until the day they were accepted. This was to prevent other trainees from sharing their methods on how to get through the tasks. Much to Hermione's displeasure she couldn't deny that Draco had the skills to pass any one of the tests to become an Auror with flying colors. It was his questionable history and family line that she had thought would be the stumbling block for Draco. On the contrary it was what had gotten him through, so Hermione had learned after she went to Arthur Finley's office the day she had learned of her future coworker's admittance into the force.

"He knows and can do things that we aren't currently capable of, Miss Granger." So Finley had said. That was another thing that Hermione couldn't deny. Having (unfortunately) worked with him on other cases before, she could attest to the wealth of knowledge that rested beneath that platinum blond hair of his. Draco knew more about Dark Magic than any person should know. And with his cunning, frightfully well-played act of deceitfulness, and his charm, Draco also made one hell of an excellent double agent. But regrettably he was wrought with qualities that made him a terrible person to partner up with. For one thing he was rash. He called it being quick on his feet, but when a mission required the tact that Hermione had so alluded to earlier, being quick on your feet was a dangerous personality trait to have. He was also a _major_ offensive fighter. He never let anything go to him, but instead he charged right at it. His actions in that regard had landed him in hot water plenty of times (this current situation not included).

Hermione bit the inside of her jaw mercilessly as she glared at Draco from across the cell. She didn't think that she could dislike someone so much. And yet in this dire situation that, she still firmly believed, was all his fault, Draco was all she had. She would need him to get out of this mess and would have to set aside all the malice she felt for him. That, nevertheless, did not apply to the sarcasm that automatically dripped off of every word that flew out of her mouth next.

"You've had more than thirty seconds, Malfoy." She said to him, producing a smirk that had been copied from him and perfected over the last few years. "Where's your brilliant plan to get us out of this?"

Draco, who had been gazing up at the ceiling all this time, snapped his attention back to Hermione in an instant. His expression was far from pleasant and Hermione swore that a growl had escaped his lips as though he were a rabid dog getting ready to attack.

"Last I checked I wasn't the only person stuck in this cell." Draco angrily replied.

"And last I checked I was lacking a map and a team of Aurors." Hermione countered, and smiled broadly at turning Draco's taunt right back on him. He didn't like this of course and instantly reached for a wand that he, embarrassingly, realized that he didn't have on him. Not that he would've done anything with it. It was their way, his and Hermione's. They fought viciously whether on assignment together or not. They threatened to pull wands on each other and most times they did. But a spell, jinx, or curse never passed their lips. Only more insults traversed the room between them which proved more to be a contest rather than aimed at actually hurting one another. Truth be told, they fought so much that there was nothing neither person could say that was deep enough to sting, much less leave the faintest emotional imprint.

"The only way we've got a shot at getting out of here is if they open the cell." Draco said as he lightly banged his palm against the bars. "As much as you'll _detest_ the idea," He emphasized with a roll of his eyes. "We'll have to attack first. No prior thought as to how it'll go or how he, them, or whoever it is will respond. Think you can handle that?"

Hermione balled her firsts unperceptively and huffed. "I'm perfectly capable of going on the offensive _when it's necessary_. But once we get through that door, that tactic is getting scrapped immediately. Our goal is to get out of here and that's all. No heroics. Think _you_ can handle _that_?"

It was Draco's turn now to narrow his eyes at her and her accusatory comment. "What's that supposed mean?"

"Exactly what it sounded like." Hermione replied matter-of-factly. "You have such a near-sighted view with the way you handle these missions. You tackle them head on without regard to the consequences. You see the bad guy and boom, you go for him. You never realize the potential consequences of your actions."

"Yeah, I do. We get arrests."

"You do, I admit it. But you also get your partner's arm broken, given a concussion, or worse, sent to St. Mungo's in a spell-induced coma for three weeks!"

Draco's harsh gaze had suddenly turned hard and cold. Hermione hadn't seen him look this mean and angry since Hogwarts, but she knew her face wasn't exactly as calm and soothing either. And no, she didn't take back what she said.

"…That was six bloody months ago." Draco said in a slow, calculated tone. "Give it a rest already."

"Ron's my friend, so no, I won't give it a rest." Hermione said finitely and wrenched her gaze away from him. It was as she did so that the strangest thing began to happen that caused both she and Draco to scramble to their feet at the same time.

The walls of the cell began to move. The back wall that Hermione had been leaning on and the two side walls had begun to close in on them and effectively brought their prison to half the size of what it had been originally. Draco turned to her in alarm, and then in annoyance, now that he realized that the shrinking box they were trapped him now brought Hermione in closer proximity to him. Hermione, although just as upset as Draco was, was less concerned about the source of her hatred. She let her hand sweep over the wall before letting her worried eyes meet Draco's.

"Now we know what our captives meant by 'if the Ministry complies _in time_.'" Hermione brooded. "How long have we even been stuck in here?"

"Not long," Draco determined. "Half an hour, tops. If this thing cuts down to half its size every half an hour, we'll be dead in an hour and a half."

Hermione wanted to kick the wall, but her body had taken enough damage today, so why inflict more on herself? Instead she ran her hands through her hair in disbelief. "Your plan is going to have to go waste, Malfoy." She said eventually. "Nobody's coming through that door to look in on us. Not unless they've got that and ransom and we both know the Ministry's policy on this kind of thing."

"Yeah, but luckily for us, they like you." Draco chuckled. "Potter and Weasley would raise hell if anything ever happened to you. If at any time the Ministry was going to cut back on policies, it'd be right now. Trust me. We've just got to hope they're quick about it."

Hermione hated to admit when Draco was right, and so she nodded instead of voicing it aloud. All they could do right now was wait out the next half an hour until the room shrunk yet again. Just the thought of it gave Hermione extreme claustrophobia. Although the cell had shrank to half its original size, there was still space enough for she and Draco to take up opposite sides of the cell. This time though, there was no fighting. There were more pressing matters aside from their differences and anger towards one another. And so they waited quietly. Neither had watches in order to see how much time had passed, but they were both on edge. The slightest movement from one another or sound from the outside world caused a spike in both arousal and blood pressure. Eventually though, they both knew that longer than a half an hour had passed. Draco, despite the situation, had succumbed to the silence and drifted off to sleep. Hermione didn't scowl nor did she chide him beneath her breath. She was tired too, and had he not fallen asleep first, she would've done the same.

All in all Hermione both enjoyed and hated the silence. It was in times like these when she wasn't under Draco's ruthless scrutiny that she could appreciate the one characteristic that she liked about him: he was entertaining. Was it entertaining in a good way? Absolutely not. The way he kept her mind going with creating new insults, clever comebacks, and never-before-see facial expressions and rude gestures, put a tiresome weight on Hermione's shoulders on a daily basis. But the silence was a heavier weight. She knew it was the same for Draco who seemed so compelled to sneer and degrade her the moment she stepped into his line of sight. This was how they worked, professionally and personally. Had Draco reacted to her in any other way, she would think him ill.

As Hermione continued to wait anxiously for when the walls would move again Draco began to moan in his sleep. She raised a brow at him curiously as his moaning turned to mumbling and then from mumbling into full words.

"Let her go." Draco said just above an audible register. He repeated that several times and soon began tossing and turning in his sleep. Hermione rolled her eyes. He'd end up banging his head against the bars if he kept thrashing like that.

"Malfoy," Hermione called. He didn't stir. In fact he seemed to move about more wildly at the mention of his name. "Damn it." She swore, because now she had to move from her spot to wake him. It wasn't an incredibly long distance, but despite the anti-homey environment she was in she had been comfortable.

Hermione rose from her place on the ground, walked over and knelt down beside him. "Malfoy, wake up. You're having a nightmare. Malfoy,"

She reached out a hand to rouse him from his sleep. This, however, proved to be an unwise decision. The moment her fingers had touched his shoulders Draco's eyes snapped wide open. His right hand had also shot out like a bullet and grabbed Hermione by the throat. She had been completely caught off-guard and placed her own hands on his to try to pry him off.

"Malfoy!" Hermione croaked with the little breath that she had. "Malfoy!" She cried again, but he couldn't hear her.

Despite wide eyes, he was clearly still dreaming. Hermione brought her forearm and crashed it down onto his in hopes that it would cause him to either release her, wake up, or both. It didn't work and Hermione could feel her vision blur with each passing second. In desperation then she stretched back her right hand as far back as she could carry it and slapped him. The contact with his face had done the trick and the moment Draco's hand released her Hermione collapsed onto the ground and coughed and gasped for air.

Draco blinked several times, clearly confused as to where he was and as to what had just happened. It was only after a few passing seconds did he realize that he was sitting upright with his arm stretched out and Hermione's coughing register with his ears. He looked down and saw her on the ground before him. He was instantly terrified and quickly got onto his knees and pulled Hermione up by her shoulders.

"Merlin, Granger, I'm sorry." Draco apologized frantically. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean… I didn't realize. Are you alright?"

" _What the hell were you dreaming about?_ " Hermione choked out. "You nearly killed me!"

"I know, I know." He sighed, his hands still clinging onto her shoulders as his eyes pleaded for her to accept his apology. He would never dare ask her to with words. Hermione continued to stare at him in fright, surprise, and utter confusion. Draco swallowed and slowly let his hands fall from off of her. "…There's a reason why I always take watch on stakeouts."

"Clearly," Hermione nodded in agreement. "Can't risk having a nightmare like that."

"The nightmares are a certainty." Draco frowned. "Hurting someone is the risk. And no," He added as he saw Hermione readying herself to ask a question. "I won't tell you what I was dreaming about."

Hermione clamped her mouth shut and pursed her lips. "Fine. But no more sleeping for you. I'd like to keep my life, thanks."

Draco chuckled; he even dared to smile. "For how much longer, I wonder."

His words seemed to be the magic trigger. As soon as he had finished speaking the walls began to move again. In sheer panic Draco and Hermione held onto each other as the walls came closing in. Their breathing intensified as their cell shrank, not knowing how much further it was going to go.

"We have to stand up!" Hermione said suddenly and pulled Draco up from the ground with him. They were facing each other now, arms wrapped around each other's waists in order to monopolize whatever space they had left. That's when the walls stopped. They were now in a tiny cube with no room to sit; hell not even enough room to remove their arms and place them at their sides. They were stuck, nose-to-nose, for Merlin knew how long. Perhaps until their fellow coworkers found them. But, at the rate things were going, it would probably be until they were crushed to death.

"Well," Hermione huffed once she was sure the walls weren't going to move anymore. "You're really not allowed to fall asleep now."

Draco licked his lips and tilted his head in agreement. "I don't think I could even if I wanted to." He sighed and tried looking anywhere else but at Hermione. Unfortunately there wasn't much that he _could_ look at. "That was longer than just a half an hour."

"Definitely," Hermione nodded. Her head bumped Draco's and she instantly apologized. "I'd say it was an hour. If that's the case, the math says that the walls will do us in in an hour and a half."

"Great," Draco said sarcastically. He then sucked his teeth; the sound louder in Hermione's ears than usual due to the proximity. "Eh, at least I get to die the way I always imagined. In a confined room with my arms around a woman."

Hermione rolled her eyes as hard as she could. "Even in the face of death, you're still a pig."

"Is there any other way for me to be, Granger?" Draco questioned as he raised a brow. "There are three things I can depend on in life. It's that I'll never change, that you'll never change, and that _we'll_ never change. If any of that ever did, I think I'd be the first Malfoy in history to commit suicide."

Hermione fought the urge to roll her eyes one more time. Instead she just let out a deeply held breath and tried to keep her hands steady behind Draco's back. "You're a sucker for punishment."

"So are you if you keep going on missions with me."

"Oh, don't flatter yourself." Hermione scoffed. "Finley makes me go with you."

"Not always." Draco told her with certainty and a slight curl of his lips. "Finley's let slip more than once that you've asked for me."

Hermione all at once could feel her face redden partly from embarrassment and partly from irritation at Finley whom she _expressly told_ not to divulge to anyone that she had requested Draco as a partner for certain jobs. She cleared her throat and let her eyes settle on the wall just behind his head.

"Unfortunately, you're good at what you do."

And so was she, Draco had to admit. They fought like hell, yes, but he wouldn't have had it any other way. All at once Draco felt the heaviness of the situation that lay before them. In an hour and more or less fifteen minutes, they'd be dead. Even if Hermione's friends had found a way to get the ransom to those band of rebels that had taken them hostage, both he and she knew it would take longer than three hours to get it.

"…It was about you…"

Hermione, who had been idly staring off into space, let her eyes meet Draco's serious ones. "What?"

"My dream," Draco explained. "My dream was about you. Someone was trying to hurt you."

Nothing much had the capacity to render Hermione speechless these days. This, however, had managed to do the trick. She sighed and shook her head, unfortunately allowing their noses to rub against one another with unintentional affection.

"Don't get sappy on me just because we're probably going to die." Hermione said in a soft tone.

"Please," Draco allowed his lips to morph into a snarl. "It's a different person every night. You're not that special, Granger."

Hermione smiled. "…That's better." She replied, feeling his hands tighten around her waist with every word he said. "You annoy the hell out of me, Malfoy. Stupid prat."

"Likewise, Granger. Know-It-All twit..." Draco said, grinning at the insult with absolute glee. He then grew silent, contemplating his next set of actions before eventually deciding on a trade. "I'm going to do something, Granger, and you've got to promise me to kick my arse if we somehow manage to make it out of this."

Hermione stared at him with extreme curiosity as he said this. "What could you possibly do that I'd want to hurt you afterwards?"

Her answer came without words but instead full of lips. Draco had kissed her. It had started out slow, sweet, and innocent, but quickly morphed into something eager and passionate. When they finally managed to pull away as far as their tiny quarters could allow, they were both breathless. Draco rested his forehead on hers and swiped his tongue over where he had just recently been bitten.

"Even during a kiss you still fight me." Draco commented, then smiled. "Best two out of three?"

Before Hermione could comment the walls of the cell began to move. She and Draco clung onto each other, heads buried in the other's neck while waiting for the walls to squeeze their bodies together until they were flattened. To their surprise, however, that didn't happen. Instead more room appeared in the cell. Hermione and Draco looked through the cell bars to see their fellow Aurors storming into the room, three of them with their wands pointed at the cell. The pair quickly disentangled themselves from each other and instead waited eagerly for their cell door to be opened. Once free, they both threw themselves through it and thanked every Auror in sight including Harry and Ron, much to Draco's displeasure.

"What did you do to get the both of you locked in here?" Ron asked, more addressing Draco than Hermione; an action that made Draco growl with hate. Hermione stood in between them to prevent a brawl.

"It was the both of us." Hermione said to Ron. "We underestimated them, that's all. Let's just get out of here. And you," She said to Draco as he stood in front of her. "My office as soon as we get back."

"Ugh," groaned Draco as he followed Hermione and the other Aurors. "What for?"

"What for? Malfoy, what did we just go through back there? We have to write a formal report."

"Merlin, do you not understand the notion of a break? We can do it tomorrow."

Hermione sighed out of frustration. "It'll be fresher in our minds if we do it today. Unless you want to wake up bright and early tomorrow morning, then fine by me."

"Not bloody likely." Draco grumbled, to which Hermione could only hum contentedly at besting him.

"Then it's settled. And," Hermione added in a whisper. "When we're finished, maybe, _possibly_ , we could get in that best two out of three."

Draco stopped where he stood for a half a second before he had realized what he'd done. He then quickly picked up his pace before anyone had noticed. "You're supposed to be kicking my arse, Granger." He whispered back. To his surprise Hermione grinned.

"Same difference, Malfoy."

Draco fully stopped in tracks then and watched as Hermione walked ahead in order to catch up with her friends. His mouth contorted in what could only be described as a cross between a scowl and a smile. The woman that had just walked away from him was insufferable. Prideful, haughty, a sore winner and loser. Hermione got under his skin like no one ever could.

And unfortunately Draco loved it.

...

 **Author's note:** Hello readers! So this fic came out of a bored mind and really out of nowhere. I hope hat you liked it though. I read an old fanfic recently "Linked" that I thought was SO amazing and it reminded me of something: I love to see Hermione and Draco fight. So, here you go lol. Please leave a review with any thoughts that you may have.

Happy reading!

-WP


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